The Bulldogs have been boosted by news that two of their most promising young players in Brandon Wakeham and Ray Faitala-Mariner have both re-signed with the club for a further two years, keeping them at Belmore until the end of the 2022 season.
21 year-old Wakeham, a local junior from the Chester Hill Hornets, has made great strides over the past 12 months, making his NRL debut in 2019 and playing in six matches for the Bulldogs this season in the halves.
He also represented Fiji with distinction in 2019, playing in all three Test matches, including a memorable performance against Samoa, when he kicked five goals and had a hand in setting up two tries.
This led to him being nominated for the 2019 Golden Boot Award for Best International Male Player.
26 year-old back-rower Ray Faitala-Mariner has been a consistent performer this season since moving into the starting side, scoring tries in two of his last three matches.
The New Zealand International is in his 5th season at the Bulldogs and is averaging over 100 running metres per game with a tackle efficiency rating of 93%.
He has now made 75 NRL appearances overall.
Bulldogs Chief Executive Andrew Hill was delighted at what the signings meant in terms of being a development club :
"As part of our focus on developing quality and depth in our playing squad, we are delighted that we have been able to keep two talented young players at Belmore for the next two seasons.
Brandon is a local junior who has shown the talent he has at both NRL and International level with Fiji, while Ray is the type of hard-running forward that provides us with great energy whenever he is on the field.
Both players are part of a long term plan to make sure that we keep bringing quality young players through our system and continue to develop them as they form the nucleus of our squad going forward.
We are confident that both players will have a major impact for the club in the seasons ahead."
